7. Project Summary/Abstract The missions of this longstanding Training Grant are to provide training in musculoskeletal research to academically gifted individuals at the predoctoral and postdoctoral level and to develop these individuals towards productive careers in musculoskeletal research. The strong interdisciplinary nature of musculoskeletal research at CWRU provides an ideal framework for developing the trainees? research expertise as well as their appreciation for the importance of interdisciplinary approaches and their interest in musculoskeletal diseases. The faculty are highly collaborative and interactive and include 21 Training Mentors plus 13 Associate Mentors from fourteen departments in the School of Medicine, the School of Engineering, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute. There is a healthy mixture of biological-, engineering-, and clinical-oriented trainers, further emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary approaches. Training is provided for two or three years to 4 predoctoral and 3 postdoctoral trainees per year. These outstanding individuals are identified by a careful, multi-step selection process. Training occurs through intensive participation in research projects as well as through a rigorous curriculum of courses, seminar, and conferences. The Director and Co-Directors are assisted by a Steering Committee and an Advisory Committee that formally review the overall program as well as the progress of each trainee on a regular basis. The success of the program is best appreciated by considering the career trajectories of our former trainees. 22 of them have obtained faculty positions at universities across the country and thirteen have developed federally-funded research programs. An additional nine current and recent trainees are in various stages of their continued training and plan research careers. Moreover, 79% of the trainees from the previous two funding periods are actively engaged in biomedical research/academics. Training future musculoskeletal researchers is crucial since musculoskeletal diseases are major causes of morbidity, mortality, and impaired quality of life for millions of people in the United States and the number of affected individuals will continue to increase in frequency as our population ages.